Five former presidents demand an end to the war on drugs

But don’t hold your breath—a UN summit on drugs next month looks likely to be a flop

The Economist (UK)Thursday, March 24, 2016

As the drug war has rumbled on, with little to show for all the money and violence, its critics have become a more diverse. The latest broadside against prohibition, "Ending the War on Drugs", was fired by a group of former heads of state and businesspeople, who put forward a sober case for rethinking the international approach to drug control. The trouble is that changing the UN conventions that mandate worldwide prohibition would require the agreement of all 193 member states, and plenty are still firmly against even tentative reform. The most likely outcome of next month’s powwow is more waffle, and a growing realisation that the UN drug conventions will not be reformed but simply ignored.

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UN Drug Control

In 2011 the 1961 UN Single Convention on drugs will be in place for 50 years. In 2012 the international drug control system will exist 100 years since the International Opium Convention was signed in 1912 in The Hague. Does it still serve its purpose or is a reform of the UN Drug Conventions needed? This site provides critical background.